Britain on lookout for helicopters and jets belonging to sanctioned Russia

A transport ministry source said on Friday that Britain is looking for helicopters and planes belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs and has asked the Isle of Man to deregister Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich’s personal chopper.

Abramovich was one of seven more billionaires sanctioned by the UK on Thursday, which means his assets, including property, private aircraft, and helicopters, will be frozen and no financial transactions will be permitted in regard to them.

The measure also halts Abramovich’s ambitions to sell Premier League team Chelsea, thus handing over ownership of the current European champions to the government. The team can continue to play, but the government says it is willing to sell the club as long as Abramovich does not gain.

‘Grant has ordered his personnel to gather intelligence on questionable planes, including their ownership and travel intentions,’ said an associate of Transport Minister Grant Shapps.

‘If we discover that they belong to anyone on the sanctions list or who live in Russia, they will be grounded. He’s put an end to the oligarchs’ flying gin castles.’

According to the source, the ministry is requesting that the Isle of Man, a self-governing entity under British authority, deregister Abramovich’s personal helicopter, which is now registered as M-HELI.

The Isle of Man has been a popular spot for private jet owners to register since, according to experts, registration on the island allowed imports to avoid paying sales tax.

On March 3, his luxury Airbus Helicopter EC-155 flew out of Stansted heading for Cannes, following the departure of his customised Boeing 767, nicknamed “The Bandit,” from Stansted a few days earlier en route to Switzerland.

It is unknown where Abramovich is.

The Isle of Man, which has its own aviation registry, has already deregistered eight Russian-linked planes.

Britain announced on Wednesday that it had impounded a plane linked to a Russian oligarch close to Abramovich as part of the new aviation restrictions, which allow authorities the authority to hold any Russian aircraft and prohibit the shipment of aviation or space-related items to Russia.